Jose Alvarado 2024 Player Outlook: Flame-Throwing Southpaw Has The Stuff To Be Full-Time Closer
3 months agoFollowing the offseason departure of Craig Kimbrel, Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jose Alvarado appears poised to serve as the team's primary closer in 2024. 2023, on the other hand, was a successful, yet injury-riddled campaign for Alvarado, who was as effective as any reliever when healthy. In early May, the Phillies put the 28-year-old Venezuelan southpaw on the injured list due to inflammation in his left elbow before activating him a month later. A month after returning, Alvarado went back on the IL with the same issue and had to miss over another month of play to rectify the problem. When the flame-throwing Alvarado was on the mound, however, he delivered a career-best 1.74 ERA (2.41 FIP), 1.16 WHIP, 64:18 K:BB, and 10 saves across 41 1/3 frames. Even though Alvarado didn't throw enough innings to qualify for most Statcast rankings, his top-tier 37.2% strikeout and 55.6% ground-ball rates also suggest he's fit for stopper duties. Although Philadelphia didn't much bullpen competition this offseason, they have plenty of convincing in-house options for ninth-inning work, meaning Alvarado is only penciled in on the depth chart for the gig. Two-time All-Star Gregory Soto has closing experience, and the club may have visions of top prospect Orion Kerkering in the closing seat for the future after he held his own during the 2023 postseason. Until the dust settles around Philly's high-leverage assignments, which may ultimately end up being a closer-by-committee approach, Alvarado's fantasy ADP in the late-double-digit rounds comes at a potential discount as the squad's default fireman based on projections during the spring-training phase of the year.